Ron Perlman talked to About.com once again confirming the sequel is on. "Monday morning (April 5, 2004) I awoke to the news that 'Hellboy 2' was going to be greenlit," the actor said, "Mike Mignola has provided us with chapters and chapters of possibilities in the comic book. I'll be the first one online to find out [what's next]. Guillermo is key. I don't know anything beyond that. Selma, I would love to see. I would love to see everybody back. I'd love to see John Hurt back. They still have to write it so it's going to be a while."

SUPERMAN

Superman-V.com has a series of tidbits about the developing project, including producer Jon Peters trying to work in an environmental message and a Warners' costuming expert calling the approach "edgier ... more like an 'X-Men' type movie."

PUNISHER

E! Television reports that the network will debut "Behind The Scenes: The Punisher" at 2:30 PM EST on April 15th, tax day for US fans. Also, today, Premiereprops.com will start a major auction of materials from the film. Finally, Screenwriter's Utopia interviewed director Jonathan Hensleigh, who goes into detail about his work. "The action genre features usually a very strong male protagonist. I know that world. I can write dialogue for men under pressure, men with dark pasts who are somewhat compromised. I was a lawyer, so I know a lot about the legal system. I read widely, so I have a working knowledge, just enough to make me dangerous, of a whole bunch of technological, scientific topics that usually factor in. And I think I'm pretty good at designing physical sequences and physical movement that have some ingenuity involved that also bring out character. Well made action pictures, the action sequences don't exist in a vacuum. You don't have enough time in the telling of the tale to have character scenes a lot of times. So you've got to have your character building during the physical action, which is hard to do."

BATMAN BEGINS

Filmjerk has a positive script review of the screenplay for the Christian Bale-fueled Bat-flick, promising that "Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's loyal servant, in 'Batman Begins' is incredibly riveting. In that screenplay, he steals the show." Meanwhile, Superhero Hype notes that "My reliable sources here in the UK have some good dirt on BATMAN BEGINS! Concerning the Bat-suit: Apparently this suit will be an adaptation of a military power suit that Wayne Enterprises is developing. Basically Mr.Wayne nicks one and does his thing!! David Goyer's script has really helped unmask some of the unknowns regarding Bats -- 'where does he get those wonderful toys?' Answer -- Wayne Enterprises and its military assignments. I've also heard there maybe references to Luthorcorp due to the military links!!"

IRON MAN/BLACK WIDOW

IGN's Filmforce reports that X-Men screenwriter David Hayter is being brought in to put a "polish" on Alfred Gough and Miles Millar's draft of the armored Avenger's adventures. They still hope to start production late this year. Hayter is also in talks to write and direct "Black Widow" with Lions Gate Entertainment. Hayter's representatives say that the spy saga is "pretty far off."

GARFIELD

Filmjerk has a review of the screenplay which is ... well, they say it so well and so spoiler-free, best to just quote them: "This is one of the most unoriginal, unfunny and most predictable scripts that I have ever read- I laughed not once. I did, however, roll my eyes at nearly every gag here; on the rest of the jokes I simply threw the script on the floor. Do you know someone who tells really bad jokes incessantly? You know how you eventually want to smack them upside the head to make them stop? That's the exact feeling I had reading this script."

SMALLVILLE

Kryptonsite is back with preview pages of the upcoming "Smallville Yearbook" from Titan Publishing. Their arch-enemies at Devoted to Smallville have even more spoilers from the season finale, "Covenant."

THAT'S A WRAP

Despite once-in-a-lifetime computer problems that waylaid the column for 20 hours, we're still here to bring you the news, and we surely can't do it without your help (although we'll admit having a public email address is a pain -- the deluge of virus emails is getting pretty tiresome). If you have the scoop on anything related to comic book movies, TV adaptations or just want to give us a truck full of cash, no questions asked, drop us a line and let's coordinate. You can choose an alias if you'd like, or be mentioned by name -- we honor requests for anonymity. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is your humble scribe Hannibal Tabu saying thanks for your time and indulgence, and (insert pithy sign-off here, once it gets out of development hell).